Noted painter Nilima Sheikh, whose illustrious body of works is a scorching portrayal of the turmoil in Kashmir Valley and a mystical depiction of women-centric issues, has become the first artist to get the curator’s nod for the fourth edition of Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB), beginning on December 12, 2018.
Anita Dube, the curator of the upcoming KMB that is hosted by the Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF), announced Sheikh’s name on Tuesday, formally setting in motion the process of selection of her artists for the high-profile contemporary art event, according to a release.
During her over five-decade career, the 72-year-old Vadodara-based painter has produced an incredibly magnificent oeuvre, wielding her brush to make an intense depiction of subjects, with particular emphasis on Kashmir, partition and displacement. Her strength also lies in the portrayal of grimness of contemporary life like oppressive patriarchy and the silent suffering of women that crack social fabric, and she does it through use of traditional idioms and motifs, it said.
A historian by training before she focused her attention on the canvas, Sheikh delved into the history of Kashmir, and believes that the valley’s turmoil “is owing to our lack of understanding (of the place and people there) as Indians…The artist’s role is to bear witness - to both the past and present.”
“The tender compassion in the paintings of Nilima Sheikh, in their quiet grandeur, aligns the feminine with the mystic and subversive strains in our tradition. She is a voice we must listen to, especially in these violent troubled times,” said Anita Dube.
